First, addition by subtraction. Put down the Wall Street Journal. For crying out loud, shut off CNBC. Avoid financial salesmen who charge commissions, but call themselves “advisors.” These are all distractions from what’s important. You deserve an exceptional advisor who focuses on what really matters. These 3 reminders will help you find one.

There is no secret sauce: The typical salesperson wants to make you a client, slap a fee on your account, and do just enough so you never leave. Your 1% fee buys you a presentation about their “proven” investment strategy, an impressive sounding investment committee and their not-so-accurate crystal ball. As polished as they may sound, remember, there is no secret sauce!

An advisor will tell you that portfolio return is overwhelmingly determined by how the markets perform and the degree to which you’re invested in them. Planning (i.e. your long term financial strategy) is what really matters to you. What resources does your advisor have to help you plan?

Advice isn’t what it used to be: Your wealth manager should consider all aspects of your financial life. That means estate & financial planning, social security timing, small business planning, family education, retirement scenario modelling and yes, fee mitigation. This advice can often have the biggest impact for families.

Unfortunately, many financial advisors do not have the expertise that can truly help their clients. If you’re not involving your advisor in all of your financial decisions, maybe it’s because you’ve determined they can’t help.

Drop and give me 20!: Financial advice is much like working out. Neither involves rocket science. And you can do either by yourself, or with the help of a professional. You can certainly work out all by yourself. Or you can hire a trainer to help you. Most people who hire trainers are looking for extra discipline or perhaps creative routines.

The same is true with wealth advice. You can absolutely do it by yourself. There are great tools and technologies available at a reasonable cost that will provide all of the basics you need to be successful. Then why would someone want to hire an advisor? The same reason why someone might hire a trainer. You want a professional to keep you disciplined and provide creative, proactive advice. If your advisor is not doing that, you need to find a new one.

Wealth advice is often shrouded in mystery. It need not be so. AdvicePeriod is committed to providing transparent, proactive and actionable advice.

Disclosures:

This article contains general information that is not suitable for everyone. The information contained herein should not be construed as personalized investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. There is no guarantee that the views and opinions expressed in this article will come to pass. Investing in the stock market involves gains and losses and may not be suitable for all investors. Information presented herein is subject to change without notice and should not be considered as a solicitation to buy or sell any security. In preparing this article, we have relied upon information provided by third parties. While we believe these sources to be reliable, the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. We have provided performance results of certain indices for comparison purposes only. A description of each index is available from us upon request. The historical performance results of each index do not reflect the deduction of transaction and custodial charges, nor the deduction of an investment management fee, the incurrence of which would have the effect of decreasing indicated historical performance results. It should not be assumed that your account performance or the volatility of any securities held in your account will correspond directly to any comparative benchmark index.

AdvicePeriod, LLC (“AdvicePeriod”) is an SEC registered investment adviser with its principal place of business in the State of California. Any reference to the terms “registered investment adviser” or “registered,” do not imply that AdvicePeriod or any person associated with AdvicePeriod has achieved a certain level of skill or training. AdvicePeriod and its representatives are in compliance with the current registration and notice filing requirements imposed upon registered investment advisers by those states in which AdvicePeriod maintains clients. AdvicePeriod may only transact business in those states in which it is notice filed, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration/notice filing requirements. This article is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its investment advisory services. Any subsequent, direct communication by AdvicePeriod with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For information pertaining to the registration status of AdvicePeriod, please contact AdvicePeriod or refer to the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure web site (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov).

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About AdvicePeriod

AdvicePeriod is an SEC-registered investment advisor dedicated to focusing clients on the important decisions necessary to manage their wealth. By combining actionable planning advice with objective investment guidance, we strive to enable clients to achieve their financial goals and shape their legacy for generations to come. This is how wealth management is going to evolve. This is AdvicePeriod.